RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Brazilian Mines and Energy Minister Wellington Moreira Franco said on Monday he is confident that the Senate will approve the so-called transfer-of-rights bill this week, a step toward resolving a dispute over an oil area between the government and Petroleo Brasileiro SA.

The dispute centers around a 2010 contract that gave state-run Petrobras, as the company is known, the right to extract 5 billion barrels of oil and gas in the offshore Santos Basin. Oil prices subsequently plummeted and the amount of oil in the area is now estimated to be much larger.